If your system has an abnormal behavior, like turning off at will, sudden crashes or incompatibilities, a BIOS update might be just what the doctor ordered.But, it is a though job: one step wrong and it all goes to hell. But, things can be easy too. Just follow my guide. First, go to your motherboard manufacturer website and download the latest BIOS and the flash tool. For an example, let’s say you have an Asus M4A78 board. Then, after doing that, you will have a m4a78.rom and an awflashxxx.exe file. Now, make sure you have one of the following: 1 – A floppy drive and an empty or ready to format diskette; or 2 – a Windows 98 CD. If you have an empty diskette and a floppy drive, go to Start > My Computer, right click in the Drive A: icon, select Format. Mark the “Create a MS-DOS Startup Disk”. Confirm. Wait untill the process is finished. Keep the diskette in the drive for now. Now, rename your bios to bios.rom (or bios.bin, don’t change the extension)(just select the bios file (normally a xxxx.rom or xxxxx.bin file), press F2 and change the name to “bios” (without the quotes). Also, rename the awflashxxx.exe (or whatever is your flash utility) to flash.exe. Copy the renamed files to your just created diskette. Eject the diskette, restart the system. Insert the diskette in the drive again. In the initial screen, the POST screen, press F8 (or the key that shows the BBS window), or press del to enter bios and them set the first boot device to “Floppy disk”. Press F10, them confirm to save the changes. After that, your computer will start in the old MS DOS OS. Them, type “flash.exe bios.rom” (without the quotes), confirm and wait. Your bios will be erased and then, rewritten. After that, the system will restart. Hit del at the POST screen, enter bios, search for the “Load Optimized Defaults” options, confirm, press F10 to save, confirm. Done! Via Windows 98 disk: the process is pretty much the same, except that you must put the two files in your C: drive. Right, put it in your C: drive, not in any folder.After that you need to restart the system with the Windows 98 disk inside your CD-ROM (use Windows 98SE, just in case), enter bios. Choose to boot from CD-ROM as first boot device. Type “cd c:\” and press ENTER. Then, type “C:\” and press ENTER. Now, the process is the same: type flash.exe bios.rom. If it says “File not found”, or something like that, just change the drive letter to D:\. Note that the typed command can change, the “flash.exe bios.rom” works for award flash and AMI chips. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial: Removing Viruses for Free
A very good Video Tutorial, showing how to remove viruses using the right tools. And, for free! Enjoy.
Posted in Security.
– December 20, 2009
UAC – It’s annoying, but protects you!
Even tried Windows Vista or 7? Then, you must be familiar with a certain feature included in both, the User Account Control, a.k.a. UAC. Most users turn it off just after the first “Wellcome” screen appears. It’s an annoying pop-up window that alerts you whenever an application is trying to modify the disk or the registry. Looking that way, it’s just an annoyance. But, let’s look form another angle. It can be a good thing, and that’s what I will be showing now.
UAC is a system service that asks the administrator for permission whenever a program tries to modify anything in the system. If the permission is given, them the process is allowed to continue; if denied, the process is terminated. No files or registry keys will be modified. And, there is where it’s get interesting. Viruses won’t be allowed to install too, if you do not give them your OK. It’s a great way to prevent an infection, and it just asks you for a mouse movement and a click to take act. A fair price, don’t you think?
Don’t worry: you will get used to UAC warnings in no time; just give it a try, you won’t regret it. Combined with the proper security settings, UAC can be a great asset to your front line against malwares. Until the next!
Posted in Security.
– December 14, 2009
Use your firewall to your advantage
Firewalls are essential nowadays. I think that they are even more usefull than anti-virus. It’s because a unique feature that a firewall have: he can detect suspicious acts of any process in a system. Comodo Firewall is specially good at that: not only it can detect when a file is trying to access the web, but can detect registry changes. Very useful in case of autorun threats, it’s even more severe than Vista’s and 7’s UAC!
The how to: theres is no secret there. Just install Comodo Internet Security with the default features, except the Comodo Anti-Virus – it’s horrible at the moment. Every file attempting to access the web, or modify the registry, that is not a normal system or known program process will generate an alert. You can them block the process, if it is a suspicious one. It takes some knowledge to block the right processes, but you will get used to it in no time. Just be sure to not block system processes like system.exe, or the computer will crash.
Here are some common processes in any windows: system.exe, csrss.exe, lsass.exe, svchost.exe, alg.exe, ctfmon.exewmiprvse.exe, explorer.exe, usnsvc.exe, sched.exe, spoolsv.exe, services.exe, smss.exe. Note that some viruses disguise themselves like system processes, but with small differences in the name. An example is the csrss.exe (system process) and the trojan csrcs.exe. Others are very obvious, like the system32.exe virus.
A very effective way to differ one from another is to check the user that started the process. Open the task manager (see previous threads for how to do this), and check. It’s located under the “User name” column in the process tab. A true system process has the User Name set to “SYSTEM”. If you have a Issas.exe started by “Administrator” or “your user name”, it’s most likely a threat. Or, a very common one: a csrcs.exe process under “Administrator”.
Well, that’s it for now.
Posted in Security.
– December 10, 2009
Ubuntu – It can save your life
What to do when everything goes wrong, and Windows does not starts? Ubuntu can save your life! It’s mainly because you can launch Ubuntu from a CD, without any setup, backup your data and put everything in order again – a big help.
What you need: An Ubuntu iso file, that can be downloaded here , an empty CD-R, a CD/DVD Recorder (any of them is fine), and a Recorder software, like CD Burner XP (download here), or the recorder software bundled in a CD that cames with your drive (like Nero). Download the iso, burn it with your favorite software in a blank media.
When you need it, reboot your system with the Ubuntu CD that you just burned inside your drive. Make sure your computer is set to start form the CD-ROM. You can do that by starting your computer, and in the initial screen, hit the Del button until a blue screen (the BIOS configuration screen) is shown. Look for the “First boot device” option, and set it to CD ROM. Save by pressing F10 and press Enter, while selecting OK.
Now, your Linux Ubuntu is ready for use! When it starts, select your local language, then select “Start Ubuntu without any changes to system” . You are ready! You can use the system, backup your data, surf the web, enter messaging programs, and much more!
Posted in PC Maintenance.
– December 3, 2009
Computer Crash? Know the culprit!
Now I will share some precious info. When a system crash occurs, You can do some investigation and identify the cause. You just need google and a little customization in your Windows OS!
Let’s get to work them: First thing to do is to disable the automatic restart in Windows. By default, Windows reboot the system when a fatal error occurs. That is not interesting to us. Right click the “My Computer” icon in desktop (or in the Start Menu), choosing the “Properties” option. Go to the “Advanced” tab, then click in the “Configuration” button, under “Startup and Recovery”. Uncheck the “Restart automatically” option (or something like that). Click “Apply”, then “OK”. First step is done.
Now, Windows won’t reboot when a system fatal error occurs. When a Blue Screen of Death appears, it will be displayed. And, that is what we want. Somewhere in that BSOD, a line that will start with “STOP 0X….” can be found. That line just tells you what problem occurred! Just google for the first two codes in the STOP message, and you can see which problem occurred. Sweet, don’t you think?
Posted in PC Maintenance.
– November 30, 2009
Problem with USB Pendrives or MP3?
Have you ever plugged a pendrive or mp3, and Windows cannot initialize it? Well, the problem, mind you, may be your motherboard! It’s fairly easy to solve it, just keep reading.
This problem may be related to a configuration in your BIOS. For default, modern motherboards have native support for USB 2.0 devices. USB 1.0/1.1 devices must be configured in your BIOS, in some cases.
The how to: Turn your computer on, and keep hitting the Del key. You will be taken to a blue screen. Now, search your BIOS for an option called “Legacy USB support”, or something like that. Normally, it’s located under the Advanced Bios Setup option. I say normally, because motherboard vendors can customize the BIOS, accordingly to the product line-up.
Once found, set the option to Enabled. If you have problems with USB mouse/keyboard, turn them on too. It’s disabled by default in most motherboards. Now, save your settings (normally, by pressing the F10 key; anyway, the last option in the horizontal line is where it’s located, but it may change). Once prompted if you want to save the settings and exit, select OK and hit ENTER. The computer will restart. And, that should do the trick! Easy, not? Until the next!
Posted in PC Maintenance.
– November 22, 2009
Tutorial: Increase Your Computer Performance
Slow Computer? Thinking of buying new equipment? Wait! Did you know you can seriously improve your system speed, without wasting a penny? With a little effort, you can have a faster machine. Just do the following:
1 – Checking your free disk space: Full disks are a serious threat to system performance. With less space, Windows have trouble accessing files and managing the system virtual memory, which causes general slowdown. So, cleaning your System Disk (normally, the C: drive) will give you a great boost in speed and stability. Click in the Stat menu, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup. Choose your C: drive (it’s the default option). Wait for the analysis. Check all options, except “Microsoft Office Installation files” and “Compact Old Files”. Go to the “More Options” tab, and Click in the Clean button under “System Restore”. When prompted, click “Yes”. Now, click OK. This shall open some space. You can also go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, and uninstall any unwanted programs.
Another thing to check is what you are downloading via emule. Emule creates empty files of whatever you are downloading, even if the download is stopped. So, canceling stagnated downloads will free considerable space. Make sure you delete any unused/unwanted files too.
2 – Compact files you are not going to use often: By doing so, a file will take less space, making things more comfortable inside your Hard Disk. Utilities like 7Zip can do some serious compression, packing files with impressive efficiency.
3 – Check what is starting up with your system: Many programs, when installed in a computer, put shortcuts in your computer to launch at system startup. While it makes that program load way faster, it will increase your cpu load, and make your startup slower. If you use very often that program or application, it may be a fair exchange. But, why hell would you want to always load some programs, like Adobe’s Acrobat Reader, at system start? To check what is loading with your windows, click Start, select Run. Type “msconfig” (without the quotes). Select Startup tab. There, all programs that load with your OS are listed. Uncheck any wanted entries, click “Apply”, and then “OK”. Reboot. It will load a little faster now.
4 – If you have a slow cpu (like a Celeron), disable heavy visual themes: Yes, your desktop will suck. But, time is precious, and we do not want to waste it, right? It have little impact in Windows XP based systems, but does wonders in Vista/7 machines. Right click your desktop, choose “Personalize”, and select the “Vista default theme”. Its the same Vista look, but without the Aero. Or, if you are serious about it, use the Windows classic theme. Disabling the Windows Sidebar does wonders too, since it wastes about 40MB memory with just 2 Gadgets enabled, and if it’s a gadget that keeps refreshing (like a sideshow does), will save a lot of system resources. You can disable it in the same msconfig tool, just in the Services tab, unchecking Sidebar.
5 – Keep virtual threats out of your computer: Viruses, trojans and the like are loaded in system startup, kept in memory, and always scan what you do – what, obviously consumes precious resources. Scanning and eliminating virus and trojans is a good way to boost performance and staying secure. Follow my previous threads to learn how to eliminate virus and trojans from your system.
6 – Are your drivers up to date?: Even wondered what that bundled System Board CD/DVD, that came with your computer is for? That is your System Drivers. A driver is a little “program” that tells windows how he may use a system device, like a Video or Sound Card, for an example. They do an enormous boost to system performance! Keeping them up-to-date is essential. You can refer to your Motherboard manual for a list of all hardware bundled in your system board, or go to the manufacturer’s website, for the latest drivers and bios updates. Download them and install right away!
7 – Installing a new copy of Windows? Consider partitioning your Hard Drive: Partitions are isolated sections of a disk. It means you can have a partition for your Windows and Programs, and another for all the things you download form the web. That way, you will reduce the risk of getting a full C: drive, and disk fragmentation. If you can, having a second hard disk is highly recommended.
8 – Defragment your disk often: When you save a file to your local disk, it will be placed in the first space available. If that space is not sufficient, it will be divided in chunks, and be put in the next space, and so successively. When you need to load that file, the processor will have trouble finding all the pieces. So, putting all the pieces of the same file together is the best thing to do. For that purpose, windows have his own disk defragmenter – it’s under Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools. You can also download third-party defragers, like Iobit Smart Defrag, or JK Defrag. Both are very good.
Well, thats all for now. Come back for more!
Posted in PC Maintenance.
– November 15, 2009
Foxit Reader Firefox Plugin Big Security Vulnerability
OK, now this is BIG. Everyone’s favorite Adobe’s Acrobat Reader substitute, Foxit Reader, mind you, has an enormous hole. It is a security flaw, not yet patched, that does the basic: allows someone to take control of your machine remotely. I myself found this exploit, while doing an update and installing the firefox plugin. Then, my Avira Antivir detected a trojan. At first, tought that it was a false positive, but turned out to be a real threat. It may allow hackers to harvest passwords and bank/credit cards data. The complete explanation of that exploit:
Foxit Reader Firefox Plugin Memory Corruption Vulnerability
Secunia Advisory: SA37049 – Highly critical
Description:
A vulnerability has been discovered in Foxit Reader, which can be exploited by malicious people to potentially compromise a user’s system.
The vulnerability is caused due to an error in the Foxit Reader plugin for Firefox (npFoxitReaderPlugin.dll). This can be exploited to trigger a memory corruption by tricking a user into visiting a specially crafted web page which repeatedly loads and unloads the plugin.
Successful exploitation may allow execution of arbitrary code.
This is related to vulnerability #12 in: SA36983
The vulnerability is confirmed with Foxit Reader version 3.1.2.1013 and Mozilla Firefox 3.5.3. Other versions may also be affected.
Solution:
Do not visit untrusted websites or follow untrusted links.Disable the Foxit Reader plugin in Firefox.
Provided and/or discovered by:
Originally discovered in Adobe Reader by SkyLined.
Reported in Foxit Reader by MrX.
http://secunia.com/advisories/37049/
This affects the latest version update of Foxit Reader – Firefox Plugin
The source is the trusted Secunia website. So, I recommend that you do one of the following: don’t install the firefox plugin; use another pdf reader, like the PDF X-CHANGE VIEWER.
Hope it is usefull, and until the next!
Posted in Security.
– November 7, 2009
Choose the Right Computer for You!
Buying a computer is easy. Go to a manufacturer website, and after a few clicks, you have yourself a new computer – and many dollars less in the pocket. There are really good options out there for brand-name PCs, some of them are very good. But, the best thing is to build your own computer, meeting your personal needs – and paying less for it.
There are very serious and trusted parts vendors out there. They will give you the same limited warranty that the manufacturers would. You will get a better setup, without overpriced components.
Now the catch: which setup is the best for my needs? There are a flood of options, all of them are good, depending of what you want a computer for. So, follow these leads:
1 – What you want your computer for? – This simple question may determine three basic and very important components, that will determine how good your computer is: processor, memory and video card. Let’s see some of the most common uses of a computer:
- Internet, documents, image view, music and small videos, web games, orkut and the likes: For that, you will need a simple computer. No need for expansive parts, or a separated VGA, or even huges amounts of memory. An Intel Celeron, or even better, AMD Sempron based systems with onboard vga and 1GB RAM is fine in most cases, principally if running old and good Windows XP. For Vista and Windows 7, I would recommend 2GB. Don’t worry, RAM is cheap nowadays, and it will impact your computer’s performance severely. I would seriously recommend you getting an AMD system, because they have better motherboards, with decent onboard video and very good chipsets. For an example, you could get a cheap M61PM-V from Foxconn, and it is still far superior to any Intel 945-based boards for Celeron systems. An AMD 690G/690V or 780G based motherboard is even better.
- Casual Gaming, High Definition Video, Anime watching, Video Conversion, Old video games emulation: Now, you will need some power. The two basic things there are a good cpu and a video card. No need for something expansive, though; a cheap Intel Core 2 Duo 4600 (or superior) or AMD Athlon X2 5200+, or an Athlon II 240 is enough for your needs – they are cheap cpus nowadays, and have more power than a normal user might use – and a Nvidia Geforce 8600GT or ATI Radeon 3670 are fine for your needs. The memory needed is the same: 1GB for XP, 2GB for Vista and 7. Some Intel Pentium Dual Core cpus might just be the thing you need too, if it’s too hard to find a cheap core 2 duo cpu, check out the Pentium E-5200, it’s good and cheap.
- Heavy gaming: Here, you will need a fairly good CPU, a HUGE amount of memory and a very good VGA. I really don’t recommend building a heavy gamer’s PC, since there are not that many good PC games, and buying a video game console is far cheaper. But, if you still wants to do it, a dual core cpu or superior is needed. I would go for a Phenom II 810 cpu, or an Intel Core 2 Quad 8200, with a HD 4870 Radeon or superior (the best you can buy, but be warned: THEY ARE EXPANSIVE!), and at least 4GB RAM. With 4GB RAM or more, your old 32 bits Windows is not recommended, because it can’t use that much memory, so you should consider changing to a x64 OS. I personally recommend Windows 7 x64.
If your desired machine does not fit in the above categories, use this simple guide to determine what you shall buy:
- For video, audio, emulation, file compression, multiple simultaneous tasks: You should focus in your processor. Get a good dual core cpu – a Pentium dual core or Athlon X2 at least. Celerons and Atom cpus, even if dual core, are not fit for this. They are low profile cpus intended for domestic use, office documents and simple tasks.
- For gaming, the Video Card is your best friend. Get at least a Nvidia Geforce 8600GT. The ATI Radeon 4670 is a cheap and very good VGA. You should start there. And don’t forget to get at least 2GB RAM, and getting a good cpu!
- Stay clear of Intel Atom cpus! They are cheap, save energy, but very weak. And, what is worse – they are integrated in the motherboard! It means that THEY CANNOT BE UPGRADED! The same goes to VIA cpus. If you are not going to run a Lan house, Atom and Via are not options for you.
- The Intel i7 dilemma: The i7 is a monster cpu. It is rocket fast, very strong, has some very nice and unique features. But, it’s way too expansive – and you don’t need that much power now. Of course, if you are a graphic designer, want to brag about your computer – or if you are George Lucas – and have some extra money without use, you may want one.
Don’t forget to leave your comments and until the next!
Posted in PC Building.
– November 2, 2009
